


This Is Why I need You (You Make The Edges Less Sharp)

by dasakuryo



Series: Whumptober 2019 [2]
Category: DC Extended Universe, DCU, Teen Titans - All Media Types, Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Don't copy to another site, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, Whump, Whumptober, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-13 15:37:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21000086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dasakuryo/pseuds/dasakuryo
Summary: Trigon. Deathstroke. The guilt comes tumbling down on Dick after rescuing Jason. And no matter how hard he tries to pretend he's okay, Kory can see right through him —as always.





	This Is Why I need You (You Make The Edges Less Sharp)

**Author's Note:**

> For the third day of Whumptober, the prompt was Delirum. The title is inspired by Jesse Ruben's song _This Is Why I Need You_ (which, imho, it's totally fitting for Dickkory, I do recommend you listening to it, folks). This was written before 2x05 episode premiered, so take the canon inconsistency as creative license ;) Hope you enjoy the read n.n

"Yo, that was _sick!_"

And even if all that transpired in the last few hours weighs heavy on his every bone, threatening to crush him to pieces, Dick can't help the smile that curl up his lips at Jason's characteristic effusiveness. One would have thought that a near death experience -falling from a skyscraper, no less- will bring about a different kind of aftermath.

But not for Jason, apparently.

"Like, your girlfriend is so _dope_! She can _fly_," Jason went on with an acute edge of disbelief to his voice. He jutted out his lower lip under Dick's frown-colored gaze. "She is so out of your league, man," he chuckled.

"But not of yours?" Dick raised a quizzical eyebrow, clamping his lips together to keep the laughter at bay, though it raked his chest all the same. He settled for wrapping the bandages tighter around the boy's injured thigh to keep himself grounded.

"Obviously," Jason shrugged. "I know how to treat the ladies, man."

"Yeah, sure," this time he did laugh, shaking his head.

He was most certainly not expecting this conversation, and a part of him was worried Jason seemed to be shrugging off the subject as if nothing had happened. He was expecting it, at the end of the day the oldest trick in the book. A defense mechanism Dick himself had resorted to hundreds of times before. Jason had had a tough life on the streets before meeting Bruce, and being Robin wasn't precisely a stroll in the park either—

But he was still a kid, a traumatized kid who had been abducted by a maniac and tortured, tied to a railing with explosives and nearly fallen to his death. And Jason was evading talking about it entirely and, at the very least, he wasn't allowing himself any sign of vulnerability in its aftermath. It was concerning, worrying. Dick had learnt the hard way that nothing good ever came out of pretending the darkest wrecking emotions did not exist. But Jason had done everything in the first place to show the team -no, Dick- that he wasn't a liability, that he could help out.

_That he wasn't weak._

If his own experiences served as a reference point, pressing him would only push him farther away, and so when the pieces finally shattered apart, the crumbling would only be worse. It was safer to let it rest, at least for now. Let Jason see Dick trusted him and didn't, of all things, consider he was weak—

(He would have to leave the pep talk of showing emotion not being a weakness thing for later.)

Dick tucked the end of the bandage under the first wrapping. Jason tried to mask his flinching and wincing by rolling his shoulders and making an off-hand joke Dick wasn't paying attention to, but he let out a faint chuckle in turn regardless. He looked up, reaching up to pat Jason on the arm, when his heart lodged in his throat before he could even blink. Jason's eyes were gleaming too much under the faint blue-ish lights of the infirmary, the sharp inhale made him shiver and, the next thing Dick knew, was that Jason was gulping down on his own breath, throat bobbing quicker after each gulp.

His eyelashes were glistening too.

So... His previous assessment was definitely further from the truth than he had initially anticipated.

Dick cleared his throat, squeezing Jason's shoulder once he rose to his feet. He tossed the bandages on the open med-kit, avoiding the boy's gaze. Out of the corner of his eye, though, he could see him sulking, head bowed down. Dick swallowed through the lump in his throat and walked over to the cupboard, and started fishing for the thickest, fluffiest blanket he could find, making as much noise as possible while searching for it. He didn't turn at the faint sound of sniffing. He owed Jason that privacy, at least.

He nearly slammed the cupboard door for good measure. When he reached the beside again, Jason was rubbing his right eye, yawning a tad too dramatically for appearances sake. Dick handed Jason the blanket without commenting on his reddened, puffy eyes, or the glistening meandering paths on his cheeks. He checked the vials were all in place instead, and fixed his gaze appreciatively on the monitor right afterwards.

Holding the vial, he adjusted the dripping valve.

"What's that?" Jason asked with a slight tremble to his voice.

"Morphine."

"I don't need painkillers, man!" he scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I am freaking Robin 2.0!"

"Improved, better version. I know the drill," Dick retorted, amused. "But your body is not going to appreciate that decision of yours tomorrow, Jason," he added, gravely.

Jason rolled his eyes again, spreading out the blanket and mumbling something under his breath. Quite probably a very original and colourful set of curses. The boy flopped on the pillow with a thump and sigh. He turned to Dick again, and opened his mouth, but Dick raised his hand and stopped him short.

"Gonna bring you something to eat," Jason squeezed his lips shut. "Be right back. And _don't touch_ that vial."

He caught Jason's eye roll out of the corner of his eye. Hurrying out of the room, he heard Jason's frustrated groan, at whose frustration he would have laughed under different circumstances, rather than seriously contemplating tying his hand to the bed— Though, on second thought, being tied was the least thing Jason needed to go through and be reminded of right now. He looked over his shoulder, shooting him a warning glare.

If Jason, all vexed frown and annoyed arms folded over his chest, tucked his tongue out at him, the room wasn't lit enough for him to know for sure.

* * *

"Please, don't tell me you're going to traumatise that kid further."

Kory's voice yanked him out of his thoughts so abruptly the pot nearly slid off his suddenly-laxer grasp. He silently thanked all those years of patrolling and being on high-alert, drawing in a breath. He stopped mid-motion, frowned, then set the pot on the counter instead of the stove. Their eyes met, and even if she was toying with the ring on her finger, Dick could see the smile in her slightly tilted head and slightly narrowed eyes.

"Rachel told me all about that _cauliflower crust_ pizza," she scrunched up her nose when stressing the words, though her voice had a slight higher edge, especially when she punctuated her statement clamping her lips tight and a breathed a short sharp sigh.

Out of the blue, there were bubbles itching in his throat. He folded his arms over his chest, leaning on the counter and looking away from her inquisitive gaze for a moment, just to keep the slight pleasing tremble in his chest at bay. He bit down on his lip for good measure, before clearing his throat and looking up again at the click of her heels.

Kory was resting against the kitchen aisle, hands on the counter-top. The curious, inquisitive gaze of hers hadn't completely ironed out from her features, even if the faint gleeful light had dimmed a bit from her green eyes. She raised an eyebrow, tapped her foot. The clicks made him scratch the back of his neck.

"Nothing like that," he finally said, gesturing vaguely to the stove. "I was going to make mac and cheese."

Kory's brow furrowed even more.

"It's Jason's favorite," he shrugged. "Or at least Alfred told me he likes it when—" he trailed off, scratched his neck again, "you know—"

Breaking through her confusion, a warm smile curled up Kory's lips.

"That's nice—"

She trailed off herself, and for a flickering moment Dick realised this was the first time she was at a loss for words. Earlier, when the team had filled her in, she hadn't not hesitated to speak her mind and call them out on their _bullshit_, and later, while facing Deathstroke, she'd the nerve of scolding him. But that was Kory, and Dick wouldn't ever dare to complain about it.

She took a step closer, eying the counter appreciatively, a crease trudging its way between her eyebrows, before turning to him. Dick's heart lodged in his throat, his whole body tensing at the sudden urge to reach out and skim his fingers along her arm. He tried to ignore his tingling hands, yet her gaze sent a soothing, familiar and welcoming warmth radiating through his chest.

Her closeness. Her staring at him, watching him intently. Them being there, in the kitchen, casually making small-chat while about to cook Jason some dinner—It tugged painfully at Dick's chest, tearing at his insides and tightening his throat. He tried to swallow through the sudden lump clogging it, but feared what he might see on the soft darkness of his closed eyes if he squeezed his eyes shut, even if it was just for a fleeting second—

It all felt so... strangely out of place. Unbelievable. Strange. Alien to him, considering what had transpired over the past few hours but— most of all, it felt _odd_. Off. As if this moment suspended in time was too good to be true, after months of being apart, after so much time of wishing to see her, after so many times he'd purposely backed away and left her her space when all he'd wanted had been to hear her voice, see her—

It felt too good to be _real_.

A shiver ran down his spine. He tried to ignore the thought. But the nagging feeling made his breath itch —which he hadn't realised, until all of a sudden the grip of Kory's fingers around his arm brought him back to the here and now.

"Grayson," she almost whispered, a myriad of unspoken questions shining in her worried eyes.

"It's nothing," he assured, shaking his head and setting the water to boil. "I'm okay," he assured again, eyes fixed on the flames licking the side of the pot.

He didn't have to be looking at Kory to know she was frowning. He'd heard it in her breathed sigh and the lone, sharp click of her heels. He was expecting her to, again, call him out on his bullshit. Straightforwardly, without beating around the bush. Yet, again, he was wrong. She did not speak a word. His heart raced when her hand brushed along his arm, back and forth.

He felt the tension wrapped tight on his muscles melting slowly under her touch. He drew in a breath, busying his hands moving the pot over the metal railing. He bit his lip, hard, set the pot a bit to the right, so the flame would lick each side evenly. Kory had harboured her hand on his shoulder, currently gliding it dangerously close to the soft curve of his neck.

_Too good to be real._

That Jason was alive. That Kory was here, with him. That everything weighing heavy on him evaporated under the warmth of Kory's fingertips.

"You," Dick braced himself for the impact fluttering his eyes shut, "didn't get the cheese out."

Dick blinked.

"Or the pasta, for that matter," she whispered, inches away from his arm, gesturing to the counter.

"I—uhm—"

"Seriously, Grayson," she huffed, "what would you do without me around?"

And before Dick could say anything, she had disentangled from him and started searching the kitchen and the fridge for the missing vital items. Her feigned annoyance morphed into a soft beam when their gazes met. A sudden weightlessness took hold of him.

When Kory sauntered her way back to him, cheese in one hand and pasta box in the other, letting the smile spread freely on her face, was when Dick realised he could breathe with ease again.

* * *

"If you want to talk about that other stuff, we can."

Kory's statement echoed through his mind. All of a sudden he was back at the motel, with his body aching sweetly and the taste of her ready on his tongue. He forced the memory down, focusing back on his untouched plate of mac and cheese. He'd told Kory it was too much pasta for one person when she poured it into the boiling steaming water. Now they were left with enough mac and cheese to feed a whole battalion —not that Rachel and Garfield would complain about it, considering his culinary endeavors as of late.

"Grayson—"

He met her gaze. Her warm, yet worried gaze. The crease between her brows, the way her soft eyes followed his every move, his every reaction. Watchful. Cautious. Dick knew he wouldn't be able to trick her into believing a lie, especially when every single sign told her otherwise... she'd seen right through him, after all. How she'd realised what he'd intended to do all along, he may never know—

She could read him better than his own teammates, than people he'd known for years... and Dick still wasn't sure how he felt about that.

"Dick—"

Her fingers toying with her ring as her eyes focused intently on his face. Her furrowed brows. Her searching, questioning gaze. Her trying to reach out and opening up to him without judging, without reservations. Her aching for him to open up in turn and unburden himself from all his darkness and nightmares. But he couldn't— he couldn't lay all that down on Kory. Kory, who was still trying to figure things out. Kory, who had already done so much for him. Kory, who had saved him.

_Kory._

The guilt was tearing at his insides. He'd been such a fool, believing he could right the wrongs of his past. He kept wanting to run from it, from the darkness, and yet somehow the shadows found him again, no matter what he did—

He was tired. Of all of it. In those dead hours trying to find Jason, he'd hoped it was all a nightmare and he'd wake up any moment, drenched in sweat. He'd prayed it wasn't real, for his mind to be playing tricks on him. This couldn't be happening after everything the team had been through, after all he'd been through—

After Trigon.

But even if the emotions smothered his chest, he couldn't bring himself to voice them. It'd not be fair... He needed to give Kory a modicum of the calmness she'd brought to him. He owed her that much.

"He killed you."

Kory's eyes went wide. Something shattered inside his chest. He hadn't mean to say that out loud, the whole point of this was to not worry her, wasn't it? And yet, there he was, spilling out the memory that had haunted his nightmares for the past months.

"What," Kory asked, with a thread of voice.

There was no escaping it. And Dick himself -his stubborn heart, really- had thrown him into this mess.

"Trigon," he breathed the name in a hiss. "In that dream— hallucination— whatever it was," he rambled, fingers curling into his palms as the words tore his throat, "he killed you."

He looked up, tried to keep his face composed, but he wasn't entirely sure he was doing a good job of it. His eyes stung and his throat was so tight he could barely drew in a breath. In his mind, the images of Kory's frozen dead body superimposed with those of Jason and his parents falling-

A part of him didn't wish to add anything further, hoped Kory could fill in the gaps without him having to say it out loud. Another part of him wanted to let it all out, to speak out the fact Trigon had engulfed him in darkness when he took the light —_her_ light— away from him.

"That's how he— when the darkness—" so focused was he struggling for words, he didn't realise he'd croaked that out.

He couldn't hear much over his thumping heart on his ears, anyway.

Kory was telling him something, but he couldn't hear it. His eyes were squeezed shut. His chest tight. Every intake of breath burnt down his lungs. He thought of Jason, lying on a hospital bed in the infirmary, nearly dead because of him. Because Jason felt Dick didn't trust him. He thought of Rose, who he'd put in harms way without intending to, when all he'd wanted to do was give her a chance—

"Dick, look at me."

The words broke through to him when Kory cupped his face in his hands. He blinked away the tears, silently hoping they weren't spilling from his eyes. The sadness flickering through Kory's face, clouding her eyes, told him otherwise. But he hadn't much time to beat himself up about his sudden vulnerability, because soon enough Kory's thumbs were tracing the sides of his jaw.

"I'm here."

He rested his forehead on hers, letting her words, her touch, her warmth, sink in. The rustle of her exhale breezing against his lips felt real enough, sending shivers down his spine. Her fingers toying with the locks on his nape evened his racing heartbeat. The brush of her nose against his made his breath itch.

He need to make sure this -her, them- was real, and not a figment of his imagination. That she was a light that always broke through the darkness threatening to smother him. That she was there. With him. For him.

So he gave in and let her exhale sink all the way down to his lungs, pressing his lips to hers.

**Author's Note:**

> Whumptober is a gift that keeps giving to my hurt/comfort-driven storyteller heart, okay? Listen, I just wanna say I love Kory and Dick's new foster son Conner, but a girl really wants to see Kory flying this season and if I am not getting it from the show, I'd better do something about it, right? 
> 
> That aside, all that has happened over the past few months is bound to catch up with Dick eventually, especially now after what happened to Jason, and the obvious guilt Dick feels he was ready to sacrifice himself without a second thought. Luckily for his stubborn ass, Kory can see right through him xD Blabbering aside, I hope you've enjoyed the read. I wanted to explore a bit of Dick's emotions and, above all, the whole concept of Kory being his (emotional) tether. 
> 
> Hope you have enjoyed the read! n.n Feedback is always appreciated <3


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